{"id":697691,"date":"2026-11-03T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=697691"},"modified":"2026-11-03T08:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T08:20:00","slug":"israel-intentionally-released-footage-of-mossad-operatives-in-iran-to-provoke-mass-arrests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=697691","title":{"rendered":"Israel Intentionally Released Footage Of Mossad Operatives In Iran To Provoke Mass Arrests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel Intentionally Released Footage Of Mossad Operatives In Iran To Provoke Mass Arrests<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Via Middle East Eye<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Former Mossad chief David Barnea has said Israel intentionally released images of their covert operation in Iran during the June 2025 conflict to provoke mass arrests and make it harder for Iranian forces to find real Israeli agents<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“One of the reasons we immediately released an official video on the morning of Operation Rising Lion, with the Mossad logo, was to protect the agents who were there,”<\/strong> Barnea said, according to comments The Jerusalem Post reported <\/a>on 25 October.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>
A screengrab from a social media video shows cars set on fire during a protest at Saadat Abad Square in Tehran, 9 January 2026. UGC\/AFP<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Barnea said the leak of the footage of Israeli operations in Iran was not just an attempt to showcase the Mossad\u2019s reach but also a strategy to overwhelm Iranian counterintelligence<\/strong>, causing them to make mass arrests, making it more difficult to distinguish operatives from ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure they arrested so many people in Iran that they wouldn\u2019t be able to distinguish the wheat from the chaff <\/strong>and would eventually release everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Barnea said Iranian authorities arrested 21,000 people during the operation<\/strong>. \u201cYou have to imagine that when you arrest 21,000 people, even if you\u2019ve caught an agent or two, eventually you have to release them because everyone\u2019s story will be the same: I was walking down the street, I was driving a car<\/strong>, they arrested me,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barnea added that many people arrested or executed on accusations of working for Israel had no connection to the Mossad.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the people being hanged in Iran on accusations of being Mossad agents, I have to ask who they are,\u201d he said. \u201cThey tell me, \u2018Listen, we don\u2019t know either.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He described some of those executed as \u201cjust unfortunate people whom they decided were our agents<\/strong>, but who never worked for the Mossad, and probably never worked for any other intelligence organisation either\u201d, according to the report.<\/p>\n

The remarks made at the Priority Summit on October 22 to a private audience have sparked a sharp response from Trita Parsi. Parsi, executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, described it as an admission that Israel “used ordinary Iranians as tools to protect Mossad operatives”<\/strong> in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cRarely will you find a more crude admission of how Israel deliberately and carelessly put thousands of people it claimed it sought to liberate in harm\u2019s way,\u201d Parsi wrote <\/a>on X.<\/p>\n

Mass detentions<\/h3>\n

Israel launched Operation Rising Lion on June 13, 2025, during which they bombed Iran and killed senior military commanders as well as scientists.<\/p>\n

After Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel, the 12-day war ended with a ceasefire. On the first morning of the attacks, the Mossad released videos showing what it said were its agents operating inside Iran<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The footage included attacks on ballistic missile and air-defence targets, with the faces of those involved concealed. Iranian police announced <\/a>in August 2025 that they had detained about 21,000 people during the 12-day conflict.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Former Mossad chief David Barnea (Dadi) explained at a conference why the agency released footage of its operatives working inside Iran during Israel\u2019s 12-day campaign against Iran in 2025.<\/p>\n

The footage released at the time was, without exaggeration, unprecedented: Mossad does\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/5LBUJXivb1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Yigal Levin (@YigalLevin) October 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Police spokesperson Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi said the arrests followed reports from members of the public and increased security measures. More than 260 suspects were arrested on suspicion of espionage and 172 people were arrested for illegal filming, the police statement said.<\/p>\n

Barnea\u2019s comments come amid concerns over Iran\u2019s use of espionage allegations to prosecute people following the conflict.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said <\/a>in September 2025 that Iranian authorities had arrested more than 20,000 people after the outbreak of hostilities with Israel. Those targeted included journalists, human rights activists, social media users, members of ethnic and religious minorities, and foreigners.<\/p>\n

Iranian authorities have said they were responding to genuine threats from Israeli intelligence and collaborators inside the country. Tehran has repeatedly accused the Mossad of recruiting people to gather intelligence, carry out sabotage and assist military attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\n

Israel Intentionally Released Footage Of Mossad Operatives In Iran To Provoke Mass Arrests Via Middle East Eye Former Mossad chief David Barnea has said Israel intentionally released images of their covert operation in Iran during the June 2025 conflict to provoke mass arrests and make it harder for Iranian forces to find real Israeli agents.… Continue reading Israel Intentionally Released Footage Of Mossad Operatives In Iran To Provoke Mass Arrests<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-697691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=697691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=697691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=697691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=697691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}